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Self-Driven Car Hits Police Officer

A Tesla car using autopilot technology became the second of its kind to become involved in a collision on March 21. The vehicle hit a Phoenix police officer riding a motorcycle. The accident wasn’t severe, unlike the previous incident when an Uber car flipped upside down during a crash.

“It was pretty much a tap,” Phoenix police spokesperson Sgt. Alan Pfohl said, “It wasn’t even a reportable collision. If it wasn’t involving an officer, we would not have even investigated it.”

The accident was enough to cause concern however, since the Tesla autopilot technology is supposed to have sensors which cause it avoid contact with any other objects on the road.

The company CEO Elon Musk has stressed before that autopilot mode is not intended to be fully automated driving, and that the operator should remain engaged and alert. Tesla says it is currently developing the technology to eventually make the vehicles fully autonomous.

Witness reported that the ‘driver’ was busy watching a Harry Potter movie at the time of the collision.

This incident follows a fatal autopilot crash last May, when a vehicle operator was killed while using the feature. while the technology has been updated since then, it appears to remain less that trustworthy.